CANADA RED CROSS GUILTY IN BLOOD SCANDAL

My Way News ^ | May 30, 2005 | AP

[T'wit]

Canada Red Cross Guilty in Blood Scandal

May 30, 9:23 PM (ET)

HAMILTON, Ontario (AP) The Canadian Red Cross pleaded guilty Monday to distributing blood tainted with HIV and hepatitis C in the 1980s, and was fined $4,000 in the public health disaster that infected thousands.

More than 1,000 Canadians contracted blood-borne HIV and up to 20,000 others were infected with hepatitis C after receiving the tainted blood products. About 3,000 people had died by 1997 and the death toll has grown, but recent estimates were not available.

"(The) Canadian Red Cross Society is deeply sorry for the injury and death ... for the suffering caused to families and loved ones of those who were harmed," said Dr. Pierre Duplessis, the secretary general of the Red Cross.

In a public apology demanded by survivors of the victims and played via videotape in the courtroom, Duplessis said the charity accepted responsibility ...

[T'wit]

The diseased blood came from a nasty prison farm in Bill Clinton's Arkansas, with Clinton's active protection. That aspect of the story was broken here in Free Republic. Today's news from Canada vindicates the Freepers' efforts to investigate this outrageous misuse of state power and its tragic consequences.

[buffyt]

You posted it here, excellent! Looks like we were RIGHT.

[tiamat]

Good.

I am glad that other people here know about that.

Arkansas prisoners can only make money by selling their blood-products to the State. A bunch of it ended up in Canada and Japan.

A bunch of Japanese patients got AIDS and Hep who didn't need it either, and Slick Willy, while told of the risk, turned a blind eye to the possibility.

[Cboldt]

See also http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1413503/posts <-

[auboy]

Quicky quiz:

These facts will be displayed in which "Blood Money" Wing of the Clinton Library?

[Cboldt]

See also http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1413503/posts <-
And http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1413439/posts <- Diff title

Provided for cross-reference purposes for the interested reader.

[tiamat]

Ummmm..."D: None of the above"?

[thoughtomator]

Clinton legacy ping.. the plot, um... thickens.

[Clive]

Bloodhounds bump.

[auboy]

Unfortunately, you are correct. :-(

[tiamat]

An unpleasant topic for your list!

[tiamat]

Somedays, it sucks to be right.

SIGH.

[T'wit]

It went all over the world. We traced it to upwards of 20 countries. There were many other court cases from it -- as I recall, France, Germany, Ireland, England, Japan, Iran, Spain and others.

[tiamat]

I had heard some of the European rumors at the time..

Couldn't verify them.

[OldFriend]

Not a word about where that contaminated blood came from in the news stories I have heard.

[T'wit]

I never doubted we were right. Remember where it started -- Michael Galster found this working IN Cummins Prison Farm. It was his own patients who were ill [from cross-contamination], yet who were pushed by the authorities to donate plasma.

He also got a visit from Vince Foster that boiled down to buying him off, and a threat if he did not cooperate. He refused.

BLOOD TRAIL told the true story, fictionalized.

[EternalVigilance]

fyi...

[T'wit]

Thanks, Clive.

[kitkat]

Fined $4,000 dollars? And nobody went to jail?

[T'wit]

I don't remember the totals but we did over 600 threads on the whole worldwide story. Some of them were very deep in medical and historical aspects. (Take a bow, Wallaby :-) )